Managing Effective Knowledge Transfer

Author Goh

Objectives of Paper

• Focuses on how organizations can manage Intellectual Capital
• Knowledge Management transfer is the key to Organizatonal Learning
• Why Knowledge Managemnt transfer is too difficult for some organizations
• What are the hindrances to Knowledge Management Transfer

Knowledge Management in Organizations

• Knowledge Management transfer is possible through JV's, etc.
• How does Knowledge Management transfer happen between groups and individuals?
• Need to transfer knowledge effectively and quickly
• HP amd 3M are examples of Learning Organizations
• Chevron reduced operational costs by $2bn using Best Practice
• One way to encourage Knowledge Managemen transfer is focus on "Increased Customer Satisfaction" - capture Best Practice then transfer knowledge
• Organizational barriers need to be overcome

Using IT to facilitate Knowledge Transfer

• BP used virtual teams
• Employees sharing Best Practices seem to be a central theme in Knowledge Manageemnt transfer (Goodman Darr 1996)
• Best Practice network often disappear or fail - Due to peoples' attitudes rather than constraints of technology
• Use of IT to tarnsfer knowledge or share Best Practice can work under right conditions - motivation, trust, culture
• IT is good at the hard factors (Intranets) but leadership is needed for soft factors - culture, motivation

Organizational Culture

• Culture definition is very broad and has many dimensions
• Culture of co-operative behaviours
• Smith 1995 identified prerequisites for co-operative relationships
  • Trust
  • Fair treatment
  • Rewards
  • Absence of unilateral Decision-Making
  • Experimentation and toleration of failures
• Support structures
  • Nonaka - break down hierarchies
  • Barlett Ghoshal - breakdown silos that encourage "sticky" knowledge
  • Balanced Scorecard approach
  • Takes time to develop environment

Knowledge recipients

• Recipient must be able to use it
• Have motivation
• Absorptive capacity
• Should not be distant or poor communication

Types of Knowledge

• Tacit - better communicated personally through chat, Communities of Practice, less structured methods
• Explicit - written recorded in manuals, tech driven - structured approaches

Integrative Framework Model

Leadership + trust + collaboration+ Problem solving capabilities leads to higher propensity to tarnsfer Knowledge Management leads to EFFECTIVE KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER leads to long-term competitive advantage. If Support structure exists, Knowledge Receipient has capacity and good relationships and right methods are used to transfer Tacit and Explicit Knowledge Management

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